[House Report 112-615]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


112th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     112-615

======================================================================



 
 CONGRESSIONAL REPLACEMENT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S ENERGY-RESTRICTING AND 
                  JOB-LIMITING OFFSHORE DRILLING PLAN

                                _______
                                

 July 20, 2012.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 6082]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 6082) to officially replace, within the 60-day 
Congressional review period under the Outer Continental Shelf 
Lands Act, President Obama's Proposed Final Outer Continental 
Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012-2017) with a 
congressional plan that will conduct additional oil and natural 
gas lease sales to promote offshore energy development, job 
creation, and increased domestic energy production to ensure a 
more secure energy future in the United States, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon 
with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do 
pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Congressional Replacement of President 
Obama's Energy-Restricting and Job-Limiting Offshore Drilling Plan''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

  In this Act:
          (1) OCS planning area.--Any reference to an ``OCS Planning 
        Area'' means such Outer Continental Shelf Planning Area as 
        specified by the Department of the Interior as of January 1, 
        2012.
          (2) Proposed oil and gas leasing program (2012-2017).--The 
        term ``Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing 
        Program (2012-2017)'' means such plan as transmitted to the 
        Speaker of the House and President of the Senate on June 28, 
        2012.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT TO IMPLEMENT PROPOSED OIL AND GAS LEASING PROGRAM 
                    (2012-2017).

  (a) In General.--Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the 
Secretary of the Interior shall implement the Proposed Final Outer 
Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012-2017) in accordance 
with the schedule for conducting oil and gas lease sales set forth in 
such proposed program, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 
1331 et seq.), and otherwise applicable law.
  (b) Modified and Additional Lease Sales.--Notwithstanding the 
schedule of lease sales in the Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf 
Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012-2017), the Secretary shall conduct 
under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) 
oil and gas lease sales in OCS Planning Areas as specified in the 
following table, in the year specified in the table for each lease 
sale:


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Lease Sale No.                     OCS Planning Area                          Year
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
229                                       Western Gulf of Mexico.......  2012
220                                       Mid-Atlantic.................  2013
225                                       Eastern Gulf of Mexico.......  2013
227                                       Central Gulf of Mexico.......  2013
249                                       Southern California (existing  2013
                                           infrastructure sale)........
233                                       Western Gulf of Mexico.......  2013
244                                       Cook Inlet...................  2013
212                                       Chukchi Sea..................  2013
228                                       Southern California..........  2014
230                                       Mid-Atlantic.................  2014
231                                       Central Gulf of Mexico.......  2014
238                                       Western Gulf of Mexico.......  2014
242                                       Beaufort Sea.................  2014
221                                       Chukchi Sea..................  2014
245                                       Mid-Atlantic.................  2015
232                                       North Atlantic...............  2015
234                                       Eastern Gulf of Mexico.......  2015
235                                       Central Gulf of Mexico.......  2015
246                                       Western Gulf of Mexico.......  2015
237                                       Chukchi Sea..................  2016
239                                       North Aleutian Basin.........  2016
248                                       Western Gulf of Mexico.......  2016
241                                       Central Gulf of Mexico.......  2016
226                                       Eastern Gulf of Mexico.......  2016
217                                       Beaufort Sea.................  2016
243                                       Southern California..........  2017
250                                       Mid-Atlantic.................  2017
247                                       Central Gulf of Mexico.......  2017
255                                       South Atlantic-South Carolina  2015
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  (c) Lease Sales Described.--For purposes of subsection (b)--
          (1) lease sale numbers 229, 227, 233, 244, 225, 231, 238, 
        235, 242, 246, 226, 241, 237, 248, and 247 are such sales 
        proposed in, and shall be conducted in accordance with, the 
        Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing 
        Program (2012-2017), except each such lease sale shall be 
        conducted in the year specified for such sale in the table in 
        subsection (b);
          (2) lease sale numbers 220, 212, 228, 230, 221, 245, 232, 
        234, 239, 217, and 243 are such sales proposed in, and shall be 
        conducted in accordance with, the Draft Proposed Outer 
        Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2010-
        2015 as published in Federal Register on January 21, 2009 (74 
        Fed. Reg. 12), except each such lease sale shall be conducted 
        in the year specified for such sale in the table in subsection 
        (b); and
          (3) lease sale numbers 249 and 250 shall be conducted--
                  (A) for lease tracts in the Southern California OCS 
                Planning Area and Mid-Atlantic OCS Planning Area, 
                respectively, as determined by and at the discretion of 
                the Secretary, subject to subparagraph (C);
                  (B) in the year specified for each such lease sale in 
                the table in subsection (b); and
                  (C) in accordance with the other provisions of this 
                Act.

SEC. 4. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE LEASE SALE.

  (a) In General.--In lease sale 249 under section 3, the Secretary 
shall offer for sale leases of tracts in the Santa Maria and Santa 
Barbara/Ventura Basins of the Southern California OCS Planning Area as 
soon as practicable, but not later than December 31, 2013.
  (b) Use of Existing Structures or Onshore-Based Drilling.--The 
Secretary of the Interior shall include in leases offered for sale 
under lease sale 249 such terms and conditions as are necessary to 
require that development and production may occur only from offshore 
infrastructure in existence on the date of the enactment of this Act or 
from onshore-based drilling.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL DEFENSE.

  (a) National Defense Areas.--This Act shall in no way affect the 
existing authority of the Secretary of Defense, with the approval of 
the President, to designate national defense areas on the outer 
Continental Shelf pursuant to section 12(d) of the Outer Continental 
Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1341(d)).
  (b) Prohibition on Conflicts With Military Operations.--No person may 
engage in any exploration, development, or production of oil or natural 
gas on the Outer Continental Shelf under a lease issued under this Act 
that would conflict with any military operation, as determined in 
accordance with the Memorandum of Agreement between the Department of 
Defense and the Department of the Interior on Mutual Concerns on the 
Outer Continental Shelf signed July 20, 1983, and any revision or 
replacement for that agreement that is agreed to by the Secretary of 
Defense and the Secretary of the Interior after that date but before 
the date of issuance of the lease under which such exploration, 
development, or production is conducted.

SEC. 6. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT REQUIREMENT.

  (a) In General.--For the purposes of this Act and in order to conduct 
lease sales in accordance with the lease sale schedule established by 
this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall prepare a multisale 
environmental impact statement under section 102 of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) for all lease sales 
required under this Act that are not included in the Proposed Final 
Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012-2017).
  (b) Actions To Be Considered.--Notwithstanding section 102 of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332), in such 
statement--
          (1) the Secretary is not required to identify nonleasing 
        alternative courses of action or to analyze the environmental 
        effects of such alternative courses of action; and
          (2) the Secretary shall only--
                  (A) identify a preferred action for leasing and not 
                more than one alternative leasing proposal; and
                  (B) analyze the environmental effects and potential 
                mitigation measures for such preferred action and such 
                alternative leasing proposal.

SEC. 7. EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO NOT INCLUDED.

  Nothing in this Act affects restrictions on oil and gas leasing under 
the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (title I of division C 
of Public Law 109-432; 43 U.S.C. 1331 note).

SEC. 8. LEASE SALE OFF THE COAST OF SOUTH CAROLINA.

   In determining the areas off the coast of South Carolina to be made 
available for leasing under this Act, the Secretary of the Interior 
shall--
          (1) consult with the Governor and legislature of the State of 
        South Carolina; and
          (2) focus on areas considered to have the most geologically 
        promising energy resources.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 6082, as ordered reported, is to 
officially replace, within the 60-day Congressional review 
period under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, President 
Obama's Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas 
Leasing Program (2012-2017) with a congressional plan that will 
conduct additional oil and natural gas lease sales to promote 
offshore energy development, job creation, and increased 
domestic energy production to ensure a more secure energy 
future in the United States.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), every 
five years the Secretary of the Interior is required to 
prepare, revise and maintain an oil and natural gas leasing 
plan for developing the Nation's resources on the Outer 
Continental Shelf (OCS). The plan must consist of a schedule of 
proposed lease sales indicating size, timing and location of 
the leasing activity--all of which is supposed to ``best meet 
national energy needs for the five-year period following its 
approval or reapproval.''
    In 2008, as a result of escalating oil and natural gas 
prices, President George W. Bush and the Congress, in a 
bipartisan fashion, overturned the two decade-long moratoria on 
new offshore drilling on most of the OCS. Prompted by the 
availability of these broad new swaths of OCS acreage that were 
newly made available for leasing, the Department of the 
Interior moved in August of 2008 to prepare a new five-year OCS 
plan for the 2010-2015 period. This proposed plan was published 
on January 16, 2009. That plan opened the Atlantic OCS planning 
area, very small areas off the coast of California with known 
resources, a small area in Alaska, the Western and Central Gulf 
of Mexico, and an area in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico--12 areas 
in total (4 areas off Alaska, 3 areas off the Atlantic coast, 2 
areas off the Pacific coast, and 3 areas in the Gulf of 
Mexico).
    However, upon assuming office, Secretary of the Interior 
Ken Salazar slowed the new Draft Proposed Plan by extending the 
comment period for six months. Furthermore, after the Deepwater 
Horizon event on April 20, 2010, the Department of the Interior 
officially announced that the plan would be changed from the 
2010-2015 time period to 2012-2017.
    In November, 2011, Secretary Salazar introduced a Draft 
Proposed Five-Year Plan for 2012-2017. The Obama Administration 
boasts that the plan ``makes available more than 75 percent of 
undiscovered technically recoverable oil and gas resources 
(UTRR) estimated in federal offshore areas.'' By focusing on 
unknown or outdated estimates of UTRR rather than focusing on 
opening new areas, the Administration obfuscated the fact that 
no new areas are opened up to new oil and gas leasing under its 
proposed plan. This draft plan was a marked departure from the 
earlier action to open up vast new areas that were no longer 
under lock and key due to the moratoria.
    On June 28, 2012, the Obama Administration presented the 
Congress with the Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & 
Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017. Its final plan included 15 
lease sales to be conducted over the next five years in the 
Gulf of Mexico and limited areas off the coast of Alaska. The 
lease sale schedule was nearly identical to their draft plan 
presented in November 2011, with the exception of delaying two 
lease sales in the Arctic--Lease Sale 244 in Cook Inlet and 
Lease Sale 242 in the Beaufort Sea--to 2016 and 2017, 
respectively.
    Of importance is that Section 18 of the OCSLA specifically 
requires that the plan be presented to Congress before it is 
considered approved: ``At least sixty days prior to approving a 
proposed leasing program, the Secretary shall submit it to the 
President and the Congress, together with any comments 
received.'' The past several five-year plans have all been 
presented to Congress with enough lead time so that the plan 
would be approved by July 1 so as to be in place prior to the 
expiration of the preceding plan. For instance, the 2007-2012 
five-year plan was approved on July 1, 2007. However, the Obama 
Administration's failure to produce the 2012-2017 five-year 
program by May 1, 2012, ensured that its plan would not be 
considered approved under current law until after the 
expiration of the 2007-2012 on June 30, 2012. This means that 
for the first time in the history of the program, the United 
States is operating without an Outer Continental Shelf plan in 
place.
    Because the proposed final plan presented to the Congress 
by the Administration this June failed to include any new 
leasing areas, effectively reinstating a moratorium for the 
next half decade on roughly 85% of the Nation's 1.71 billion 
acres of Outer Continental Shelf lands, the Committee 
determined legislative action was necessary. H.R. 6082 replaces 
the President's proposed final plan with a leasing plan that 
incorporates all of the proposed 15 lease sales on an 
accelerated schedule, and adds an additional 14 lease sales in 
new areas of the Nation's Outer Continental Shelf, including in 
the Atlantic and the Pacific. The robust lease sale schedule 
included in H.R. 6082 is a legislative assertion of the 
importance of offshore energy production in the United States 
to pave a path towards energy independence as well as increased 
economic activity and job creation on our shores.

Numerous Oversight Hearings conducted on five year program

    Both the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources as 
well as the full Committee on Natural Resources have conducted 
a total of seven oversight or legislative hearings and markups, 
reviewing and analyzing the proposals in the President's plan 
and proposals for harnessing more of America's offshore 
resources. A list of these hearings includes:
           April 6, 2011--Subcommittee on Energy and 
        Mineral Resources Legislative Hearing on H.R. 1229, 
        H.R. 1230, and H.R. 1231;
           April 13, 2011--Full Committee Markup of 
        H.R. 1229, H.R. 1230, and H.R. 1231;
           November 16, 2011--Full Committee Oversight 
        Hearing on ``The Future of U.S. Oil and Natural Gas 
        Development on Federal Lands and Waters'' with 
        Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar;
           November 18, 2011--Subcommittee on Energy 
        and Mineral Resources Legislative Hearing on H.R. 3410, 
        H.R. 3407, and H.R. 3409;
           February 1, 2012--Full Committee Markup of 
        H.R. 3407, H.R. 3408, and H.R. 3410;
           March 8, 2012--Subcommittee on Energy and 
        Mineral Resources Oversight Hearing on ``Effect of the 
        President's FY 2013 Budget and Legislative Proposals 
        for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and 
        Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) 
        on Private Sector Job Creation, Domestic Energy 
        Production, Safety, and Deficit Reduction''; and
           May 9, 2012--Full Committee Oversight 
        Hearing on ``Evaluating President Obama's Offshore 
        Drilling Plan and Impacts on Our Future.''

Fewest submitted lease sales in history of five year program

    On July 16, 2012, the nonpartisan Congressional Research 
Service (CRS) issued a historical report on the five-year 
leasing program that included a table depicting the details of 
each five year program going back to the first program in 1980. 
The table (included below) clearly confirmed that the 2012-2017 
lease sale plan put forward by the Obama Administration 
contains the lowest number of lease sales in the history of the 
program.

                           OCSLA SECTION 18 SUBMISSIONS TO CONGRESS 1980 THROUGH 2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                              # of Sales  # of Sales    Acreage
              Years                       Administration           Congress      Listed       Held    (millions)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980-1982\1\....................  Carter........................        96th          36          12         4.1
1982-1987.......................  Reagan........................        97th          40          23        19.4
1987-1992.......................  Reagan........................       100th          24          17        24.7
1992-1997.......................  George H.W. Bush..............       102nd          18          12        26.8
1997-2002.......................  Clinton.......................       105th          16          12        18.8
2002-2007.......................  George W. Bush................       107th          20          15        24.3
2007-2012.......................  George W. Bush................       110th       21\2\          11     20.5\3\
2012-2017.......................  Obama.........................       112th          15          NA          NA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\This program was originally referred to as the Comprehensive Program 1980-1985. It was later renamed the
  Comprehensive Program 1980-1982 due mainly to judicial activity. California v. Watt, 688F. 2d 1290 (D.C. Cir.
  1981).
\2\Revised to 16.
\3\As of 2011.
Source: CRS. Data reflecting approximate acreage leased from one lease sale (Central Gulf of Mexico Sale 216/222
  held on June 20, 2012) is not yet available. ``NA'' indicates Not Applicable.

Resuming cancelled and postponed lease sales

    Some of the lease sales in H.R. 6082 are sales that had 
been previously planned but cancelled by the Obama 
Administration. Lease Sale 220 off the coast of Virginia serves 
as one example of a lease sale that had been scheduled to be 
conducted in 2011 under the Bush 2007-2012 final leasing 
program; however, the sale was first postponed and then 
cancelled by the Obama Administration, despite the support by 
the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Virginia's 
General Assembly, and a bipartisan majority of Virginia's 
Congressional delegation. Other sales included in H.R. 6082 
were included in the previously mentioned draft proposed plan 
for 2010-2015 that was initiated though never finalized. 
Additional lease sales in lease sale planning areas were 
included to show a dedicated effort to provide regularly 
scheduled lease sales in new areas.

California lease sales

    H.R. 6082 includes two lease sales in the Southern 
California Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Planning Area. Lease 
Sale 249 is required to be conducted by 2013. The expedited 
timing of this lease sale is a result of the lease sale 
criteria, which requires the Secretary to conduct a lease sale 
comprised only of lease blocks that allow industry to utilize 
existing infrastructure already in place. This sale conforms to 
applications already underway in California where a company is 
looking to drill in California State waters from a platform in 
federal waters. The State of California has been helping the 
company move permits through the State and federal process. The 
Committee believes that can serve as a model for the special 
lease sale in California waters. In developing this sale, the 
Committee consulted with a group of California petroleum 
geologists who estimate that there are 1.6 billion barrels of 
oil on unleased acreage that could be reached with extended 
reach drilling without a single new platform off the California 
coast. Lease Sale 243 in Southern California is scheduled for 
much later in the plan 2017 to provide sufficient time for 
planning.

Eastern Gulf of Mexico

    H.R. 6082 specifically includes a section to make very 
clear the fact that the bill does not in any way repeal the 
moratorium on oil and natural gas leasing through 2022 in 
specific sections of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, as is 
currently law under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 
2006 (GOMESA, Public Law 109-432). However, there is a very 
small amount of acreage in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico that is 
not under the GOMESA moratorium, and therefore is open and 
available for leasing. As a result, H.R. 6082 includes three 
lease sales for this very small open area, which borders the 
Central Gulf of Mexico planning area, two of which reflect 
lease sales included in President Obama's proposed final plan 
presented to Congress on June 28, 2012, and an additional sale 
in the same area.

Protection for Defense operations

    Currently, in conducting lease sales in the OCS, the 
Secretary of the Interior works within a mutually-agreed to 
framework that was developed between the Department of the 
Interior and the Department of Defense under a Memorandum of 
Agreement (MOA) signed by both Secretaries in 1983. This Act 
requires the Secretaries to continue to work inside that 
framework established by the Memorandum of Agreement or any 
update of that agreement that follows.
    Public lands of the United States are entrusted to the care 
of the federal government to ensure for their multiple-use by a 
wide variety of interests. In the case of federal OCS waters, 
the MOA allows for a symbiotic relationship between the 
Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior. The 
MOA ensures that the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Secretary of Defense are on equal footing in the leasing 
process and the two parties created a framework that balances 
those needs. The MOA clearly recognizes that the OCS leasing 
program of the Department of the Interior is an ``integral part 
of the nation's energy security program,'' but it also 
recognizes that the military's continued use of the OCS is 
imperative to ensure that our armed forces ``achieve and 
maintain an optimum state of readiness.'' The Committee 
believes that the MOA has successfully managed the multiple-use 
of federal lands.
    Given the success of this MOA, the Committee also 
recognizes that the best way to feasibly ensure that the joint 
goals of preserving access to the OCS for the U.S. armed forces 
and for mineral development is to allow the departments to 
continue their negotiations inside the framework of the MOA. 
The Committee believes that a scenario where one department is 
given precedence over the other could fundamentally undermine 
the multiple-use mission for public lands. Instead, the MOA is 
recognized as a delicate, yet sound, means by which both 
departments may reach mutually acceptable solutions, thereby 
allowing leasing to continue in the OCS while making certain 
that the needs of our Nation's armed forces are continued to be 
met.

Energy companies and state sponsors of terrorism

    The Committee has been increasingly concerned that some 
foreign multinational energy companies and/or their 
subsidiaries that are currently operating on the Nation's OCS 
area are engaged in business operations with nations that are 
designated as State Sponsors of Terrorism by the U.S. 
Department of State. While this bill does not change existing 
laws that limit economic activity with state sponsors of 
terrorism, the Committee remains concerned that companies are 
increasingly choosing to operate in these countries, counter to 
U.S. national security interests.
    The Committee expects the Administration to do a better job 
of tracking and identifying those companies that currently 
operate in the United States and have subsidiaries that are 
known to have operations in conjunction with State Sponsors of 
Terrorism. The Committee requests that the Administration 
report those findings back to the Committee. Furthermore, the 
report to the Committee should review current laws and 
regulations available to the Administration to review 
operations by any companies operating in the United States OCS 
that may be somehow linked through business operations with 
State Sponsors of Terrorism as well as possible actions that 
may be taken should these companies insist on continuing to 
collaborate with State Sponsors of Terrorism.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 6082 was introduced on July 9, 2012, by Congressman 
Doc Hastings (R-WA) and referred to the House Committee on 
Natural Resources. On July 17, 2012, the Full Resources 
Committee met to consider the bill. Congressman Jeff Duncan (R-
TN) offered amendment designated #1 to the bill; the amendment 
was adopted by voice vote. Congressman Jon Runyan (R-NJ) 
offered amendment designated .050 to the bill; the amendment 
was defeated by voice vote. Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NJ) 
offered amendment designated .003 to the bill; the amendment 
was not adopted by a bipartisan roll call vote of 13 to 20, as 
follows:


    Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ) offered amendment designated 
.005 to the bill; the amendment was not adopted by a roll call 
vote of 15 to 19, as follows:


    Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ) offered amendment designated 
.006 to the bill; the amendment was not adopted by a roll call 
vote of 16 to 21, as follows:


    Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) offered amendment 
designated .002 to the bill; the amendment was not adopted by a 
bipartisan roll call vote of 15 to 25, as follows:


    Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) offered amendment 
designated .004 to the bill; the amendment was not adopted by a 
bipartisan roll call vote of 17 to 25, as follows:


    Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) offered amendment 
designated .059 to the bill; the amendment was not adopted by a 
bipartisan roll call vote of 16 to 26, as follows:


    The bill, as amended, was then adopted and ordered 
favorably reported to the House of Representatives by a 
bipartisan roll call vote of 24 to 17, as follows:


            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

H.R. 6082--Congressional Replacement of President Obama's Energy-
        Restricting and Job-Limiting Offshore Drilling Plan

    Summary: H.R. 6082 would establish a schedule for oil and 
gas lease sales in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) that would 
replace the leasing plan developed by the Department of the 
Interior (DOI) for the 2012-2017 period. The bill would direct 
DOI to auction leases in areas that are not included in DOI's 
plan, including the OCS in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and 
the North Aleutian Basin in Alaska. It also would require 
auctions to be held earlier and more frequently in certain OCS 
areas in Alaska and the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Under H.R. 
6082, the timetable for sales in the central and western Gulf 
of Mexico, which occur annually under current policies, would 
remain unchanged.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 6082 would increase 
offsetting receipts collected from lease sales over the 2013-
2022 period, thus reducing net direct spending by about $600 
million over that period. In addition, CBO estimates that 
implementing the bill would cost $35 million over the 2013-2017 
period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. 
Enacting this bill would not affect revenues. Pay-as-you-go 
procedures apply because enacting the legislation would affect 
offsetting receipts (a credit against direct spending).
    H.R. 6082 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of H.R. 6082 is shown in the following table. 
The costs of this legislation fall within budget functions 300 
(natural resources and the environment) and 950 (undistributed 
offsetting receipts).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                         -------------------------------------------------------
                                                            2013     2014     2015     2016     2017   2013-2017
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING\1\

Estimated Budget Authority..............................        0        0     -150     -135     -235      -520
Estimated Outlays.......................................        0        0     -150     -135     -235      -520

                                  CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Estimated Authorization Level...........................       15       15        2        2        1        35
Estimated Outlays.......................................       13       15        4        2        1       35
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Over the 2013-2022 period, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 6082 would reduce net direct spending by $600
  million.

    Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that H.R. 
6082 will be enacted near the end of 2012 and that the amounts 
necessary to implement the bill will be appropriated each year. 
Because oil and gas production usually occurs several years 
after a lease is issued, CBO expects that most of the net 
increase in offsetting receipts under H.R. 6082 over the next 
10 years would result from bonus payments collected when firms 
acquire leases.

Direct spending

    H.R. 6082 would codify an OCS leasing schedule for the 
2013-2017 period that includes auctions in areas that would not 
be leased under DOI's current five-year plan. CBO estimates 
that those additional sales would increase net offsetting 
receipts, a credit against direct spending, by about $600 
million over the 2013-2022 period relative to the amounts we 
expect the government to collect from OCS leasing under current 
law. That estimate is based on information from DOI about the 
oil and gas resources in the affected regions, historical rates 
of leasing in those areas, and recent trends in the amount of 
bonus bids paid for other OCS leases. Although H.R. 6082 would 
direct DOI to hold certain lease sales starting in 2013, CBO 
anticipates that most of the additional proceeds would be 
collected after 2015 because of the time needed to complete 
geological, environmental, and other assessments for each sale 
and to issue leases to winning bidders.
    Leasing in the Atlantic and Pacific OCS. With the exception 
of certain areas off the coast of Florida, which are subject to 
a temporary ban on leasing until July 1, 2022, decisions about 
where and when to offer OCS leases are made administratively--
in consultation with industry and affected states--for five-
year periods. Leases cannot be offered for areas that are not 
included in a five-year plan, but the available regions may 
change whenever a new plan is adopted. Based on DOI's plan for 
2013 through 2017, CBO assumes that no leasing will occur in 
the Atlantic or Pacific OCS over that period. However, CBO's 
baseline projections of oil and gas leasing receipts reflect 
the possibility that DOI will offer leases in those areas after 
2017.\1\ CBO assumes that enacting H.R. 6082 would have no 
effect on OCS leasing policies after 2017 because the 
stipulations in the bill would apply only to auctions held 
during the 2013-2017 period.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\The geographic scope of OCS leasing has changed often over the 
past few decades. See Adam Vann, Offshore Oil and Gas Development: 
Legal Framework, CRS Report for Congress RL33404 (Congressional 
Research Service, May 2, 2011); and Curry L. Hagerty, Outer Continental 
Shelf Moratoria on Oil and Gas Development, CRS Report for Congress 
R41132 (Congressional Research Service, March 23, 2011).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Estimates of potential proceeds from leasing in areas of 
the Atlantic and Pacific OCS are uncertain. Because there has 
been no leasing activity in those areas for more than 25 years, 
there are no data on bidders' assessments of the value of those 
resources relative to alternative investments in domestic 
resources onshore, other OCS regions, or international 
prospects. Areas that primarily contain natural gas may not 
attract significant industry interest if prices remain near 
their current levels.\2\ Other factors that could affect bidder 
interest include the absence of pipelines and onshore 
processing facilities in key areas and past litigation 
regarding offshore oil and gas development, which resulted in 
the cancellation of some federal leases in both regions. In 
addition, some resources in those regions probably would be 
excluded from auctions because leasing may not be compatible 
with state coastal zone management plans.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\The Energy Information Administration estimates that no oil or 
gas will be produced in the Atlantic OCS through 2035 under the price 
and resource assumptions in the agency's reference case for 2012. See 
Annual Energy Outlook 2012, DOE/EIA-0383 (2012) (June 2012), tables 132 
and 133. Those projections assume that leasing in the Atlantic OCS will 
begin in 2018. See Annual Energy Outlook 2011, DOE/EIA-0383 (2011) 
(April 2011), pp. 35-37.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Based on such considerations and DOI's resource 
assessments, CBO estimates that conducting auctions in the 
Atlantic and Pacific OCS as specified by this bill would 
increase net proceeds from oil and gas leasing by $550 million 
over the 2013-2022 period relative to the amounts expected 
under current law. Based on historical trends, CBO estimates 
that the additional bonus payments would be collected by 2018. 
The change in receipts for the remainder of the 10-year period 
would be limited to rental payments on nonproducing leases and 
royalties on any leases brought into production within that 
period.
    Although the timing of auctions in the Atlantic and Pacific 
after 2017 under current law is unknown, CBO expects that 
leasing will occur at some point in the future without any 
change in law. Thus, legislation to require immediate leasing 
of those areas would accelerate development but probably not 
affect the total amount of development in those areas over the 
next several decades.
    Leasing in the Alaska OCS. The leasing schedule in H.R. 
6082 would include an auction in the North Aleutian Basin in 
Alaska in 2016. That OCS region is not included in DOI's 
leasing plan for the 2013-2017 period. Estimates of bidder 
valuations and interest in such leases are uncertain because 
the firms that won leases in this region in the 1980s 
relinquished them as a result of litigation. For this estimate, 
CBO anticipates that bonus bids could range from a few million 
dollars to about $100 million, which would be roughly 
proportionate to the prices recently paid for resources leased 
in the Chukchi Sea. CBO estimates that proceeds from enacting 
this provision would fall in the midpoint of this range--or 
about $50 million.
    Leasing in Areas Where Leasing Will Occur Under the Current 
Five-Year Plan. H.R. 6082 would change the timing and frequency 
of auctions in some areas that are included in DOI's current 
five-year plan, such as the Chukchi Sea, Beaufort Sea, and Cook 
Inlet in Alaska and part of the eastern Gulf of Mexico. For 
example, the bill would direct DOI to auction leases in the 
Chukchi Sea three times during the 2013-2017 period, compared 
to the single sale planned by DOI. CBO estimates that those 
stipulations would change the years in which receipts are 
collected but would have no significant net effect on the 
amount of receipts over the 2013-2022 period.
    Although DOI makes areas available for oil and gas 
development, the quantity of acreage leased and the prices paid 
for those leases depend on decisions made by firms. Industry 
valuations typically reflect information from seismic analysis 
and from exploration and development activities on other 
leases. Because such activities typically take several years to 
complete, CBO expects that the information available to bidders 
for valuing leases would be roughly the same whether leases are 
auctioned on a single or multiple occasions within that five-
year period.

Spending Subject to Appropriation

    Based on spending patterns for similar activities, CBO 
estimates that DOI would spend about $35 million over the 2013-
2017 period to complete pre-auction assessments and conduct the 
additional lease sales required by the bill, assuming 
appropriation of the necessary amounts.
    Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go 
Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement 
procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or 
revenues. The net changes in outlays that are subject to those 
pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in the following table.

                              CBO ESTIMATE OF PAY-AS-YOU-GO EFFECTS FOR H.R. 6082, AS ORDERED REPORTED BY THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES ON JULY 18, 2012
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                          By fiscal year, in millions of dollars
                                                                 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    2012     2013     2014     2015      2016       2017       2018     2019   2020   2021   2022  2012-2017  2012-2022
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                              NET INCREASE OR DECREASE (-) DEFICIT

Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Impact..................................        0        0        0     -150       -135       -235        -60     -5     -5     -5     -5      -520        -600
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 6082 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    Previous CBO estimates: CBO has prepared cost estimates for 
two pieces of legislation that are similar to H.R. 6082. On May 
2, 2011, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 1231, the 
Reversing President Obama's Offshore Moratorium Act, as ordered 
reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on April 
13, 2011. On February 7, 2012, CBO transmitted a cost estimate 
for H.R. 3410, the Energy Security and Transportation Jobs Act, 
as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources 
on February 1, 2012. Differences among the estimates largely 
reflect differences in provisions regarding the eastern Gulf of 
Mexico, revenue sharing with states, and the time period 
covered by the legislation: H.R. 6082 would revise leasing 
policies for the period from 2013 through 2017; in contrast, 
the changes in H.R. 1231 and H.R. 3410 would remain in effect 
indefinitely.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Kathleen Gramp; Impact 
on state, local, and tribal governments: Mellissa Merrell; 
Impact on the private sector: Amy Petz.
    Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.
    2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required 
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 
6082 would increase offsetting receipts collected from lease 
sales over the 2013-2022 period, thus reducing net direct 
spending by about $600 million over that period. In addition, 
CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $35 million 
over the 2013-2017 period, assuming appropriation of the 
necessary amounts. Enacting this bill would not affect 
revenues. Pay-as-you-go procedures apply because enacting the 
legislation would affect offsetting receipts (a credit against 
direct spending).
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill, as ordered reported, is to officially 
replace, within the 60-day Congressional review period under 
the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, President Obama's 
Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing 
Program (2012-2017) with a congressional plan that will conduct 
additional oil and natural gas lease sales to promote offshore 
energy development, job creation, and increased domestic energy 
production to ensure a more secure energy future in the United 
States.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

    With the passage of H.R. 6082, over the last 18 months the 
Natural Resources Committee has now reported out a total of 11 
bills intended to open up nearly every last piece of our public 
lands to drilling and hand even more giveaways to Big Oil. All 
in all, the Majority has cast a total of 62 votes in the 
Natural Resources Committee that benefit the oil and gas 
industry.
    The Majority has voted repeatedly to allow drilling off our 
beaches in California, New Jersey and Florida without improving 
the safety of offshore drilling. They have voted to allow 
drilling in the crown jewel of our wildlife refuge system, the 
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. They have voted to 
turn over nearly all of our public lands onshore to the oil 
industry within a few short years. They have repeatedly voted 
against putting in place any new safety standards for offshore 
drilling following the BP spill, against ensuring that oil 
companies making record profits are paying their fair share to 
drill on public lands, and against keeping the oil and gas 
produced from public lands here in America to benefit American 
consumers.
    We oppose H.R. 6082 because it continues that trend, 
forcing drilling off the East Coast, stretching from Maine to 
South Carolina, off of Southern California and in the important 
fishery of Bristol Bay off Alaska while preventing proper 
environmental review. This legislation would also dangerously 
rush additional leasing offshore in the Arctic.
    H.R. 6082 would revive a number of long-dead lease sales 
proposed by the Bush Administration just 4 days before leaving 
office. In the same week that the House will consider 
Republican legislation to prohibit ``midnight'' regulations, we 
will also consider a Republican bill to legislatively reinstate 
the Bush Administration ``midnight'' offshore leasing plan.
    And the legislation would prevent proper environmental 
review of offshore drilling in the Atlantic, Pacific and 
Bristol Bay by requiring that the Department conduct a single 
Multisale Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for these areas. 
Such EIS documents are usually done for lease sales in areas 
like the Gulf of Mexico, where the conditions are well known 
and similar. However, under this proposal, the Department would 
be forced to conduct a single environmental review for these 
three distinct and wildly different areas. In fact, it would be 
almost difficult to imagine three more different environments.
    Ultimately, H.R. 6082 ignores the fact that President 
Obama's offshore drilling plan already makes more than 75 
percent of the offshore oil and gas resources available for 
drilling. It ignores the fact that domestic oil production is 
at an 18 year high. It ignores the fact that we have fifty 
percent more floating drilling rigs operating in the Gulf of 
Mexico than we did prior to the BP spill and have more total 
rigs operating in the United States than does the rest of the 
world combined. And the bill fails to address safety reforms 
for offshore drilling nor does it ensure that oil companies are 
paying their fair share to drill on public lands.
    The Majority rejected an amendment from Representative 
Tonko (D-NY) that would have required oil companies seeking new 
leases on public land to disclose to the public secret campaign 
contributions over the preceding five years. The Majority 
rejected an amendment from Energy and Mineral Resources 
Subcommittee Ranking Member Holt (D-NJ) that would have 
improved the safety of offshore drilling, ended the roughly $1 
billion in free drilling by oil companies in the Gulf of Mexico 
each year, required oil companies to begin drilling on the 26 
million acres they already have under lease offshore that hold 
nearly 18 billion barrels of oil, and struck provisions in the 
underlying bill limiting environmental review of drilling in 
new areas.
    The Majority also rejected an amendment from Representative 
Holt that would have required oil companies to test all 
drilling, safety and oil spill response equipment in actual 
Arctic conditions prior to drilling there and ensured that 
drilling in Bristol Bay would not harm fishing industry jobs or 
the economy in Alaska and the West Coast. An amendment from 
Full Committee Ranking Member Markey (D-MA) to ensure that all 
natural gas produced from public lands under this act stayed in 
America to help American consumers and our economy was rebuffed 
by the Majority. The Majority also defeated an amendment from 
Representative Markey that would have required major, 
integrated oil companies, which are making record profits, to 
relinquish some of the roughly $4 billion the industry receives 
every year in taxpayer subsidies. Finally, the Majority 
rejected an amendment from Representative Pallone (D-NJ) that 
would have protected New Jersey and the other East Coast states 
by striking the lease sales in the Atlantic.
    Democrats will continue to support President Obama's ``All 
of the Above'' energy strategy, which has successfully reduced 
our dependence on foreign oil from 57 percent during the last 
year of the Bush Administration to 45 percent today and oppose 
the Majority's continued efforts to hand new giveaways to Big 
Oil.

                                   Edward J. Markey.
                                   Niki Tsongas.
                                   Grace F. Napolitano.
                                   Frank Pallone, Jr.
                                   Rush D. Holt.
                                   Raul M. Grijalva.
                                   Paul Tonko.
                                   Ben Ray Lujan.
                                   Dale E. Kildee.

                                  
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